Investors seeking safe havens shouldstay committed to a longer-term outlook. Making dramatic, emotional moves “rarely proves to be good,” says Elizabeth Miller, Trevor Stewart Burton & Jacobsen. Lawrence Glazer, Mayflower Advisors, concurs and adds that while people tend to look at commodities like gold and oil, it might be wiser to stay committed to the markets in the long term.

Washington Mutual can't be allowed to fail because it owes $58 billion to the Federal Home Loan Bank System, Dick Bove from Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. told CNBC. "If Washington Mutual goes under then the Federal Home Loan Bank in San Francisco and probably the one in Seattle will lose $58 billion," Bove said.

"The best solution for (Morgan Stanley) probably is to tie up with a commercial bank and Wachovia does look (like) quite a sensible option for them," said Richard Staite, U.S. banks analyst at Atlantic Equities.

More Government Must Manage Toxic Assets

"An RTC-style (Resolution Trust Corp.-style) structure seems to be the most sensible and workable means of working through this crisis," Benjamin Pedley, investment strategist from LGT Investment Management, said.

"There is good prospect that the number of institutions will shrink further and those who will be left will be very strong indeed and certainly will enjoy the endorsement from all the regulators and central banks to keep them afloat," Georg Grodzki from Legal & General Investment Management told CNBC.

The Darwinian Survivors

The biggest and toughest companies to survive the current market turmoil will be Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan, Chubb and CNBC-parent GE, Mike Holland, chairman of Holland & Company, told CNBC.